Ezekiel Essay example -- essays research papers

Ezekiel meaning the strength of God, is one of the four greater prophets in the Old Testament. Ezekiel was the son of a priest named Buzi. Not much is known about Ezekiel’s childhood; much more is know after the age of twenty-five. Ezekiel was taken captive in the captivity of Jehoiachin, about eleven years before the destruction of Jerusalem. He was one of the many members of a community of Jewish people who settled on the banks of the Chebar, a river of Babylon. Ezekiel began prophesying in 595 B.C, and finished prophesying in 573 B.C. Ezekiel prophesied for a period that lasted about twenty-two years. Ezekiel was a married man but little else is known about his family life, he also had a house in his place of exile. His wife died a sudden death during the siege of Jerusalem. He lived among the top of his companions in exile, and their elders consulted with him on all matters. Ezekiel lived in a time of international crisis and conflict. Assyria was the world power in the area under the rule of Tiglath-pilesar III. In 724 B.C Israel raged war upon Assyria, and Israel was no match for Assyria. In 627 B.C the last of the able Assyrian ruler, Ashurbanipal died. Right after the death of Ashurbanipal, Babylon under Nabopolassar wanted independence from Assyria. In 612 B.C the Assyrians under Nineveh surrendered to the rising Babylonians. In 605 B.C the Babylonians were at war against the Egyptians. The Babylonians won and they established themselves as the leading power in the area. During all of this Judea allied with the Babylonians and with this Judea kept her independence. During the last century before Judea was destroyed it was ruled by four rulers and of those rulers, all but Josiah were wicked. Josiah was committed to God and led Judea to him. All the others did not heed the warnings of Ezekiel and Jeremiah from God, and the rulers of Judea chose to reb el against God. God punished Judea by sending Nebuchadnezzar’s army to crush the nation of Judea and flatten the city of Jerusalem. God appeared first to Ezekiel in a storm cloud; God was seated on a throne surrounded by cherubim. He commanded Ezekiel to go to an â€Å"impudent children and stiffhearted† and He gave Ezekiel a scroll to eat, showing Ezekiel complete identification with God’s Word. After Ezekiel returned to the people in Tel-Abib, God spoke to Ezekiel again, telling Ezekiel to be a â€Å"watchma... ...all the people Ezekiel was strange but God did not believed, In God’s eyes, Ezekiel was truthful, forgiving, obedient, and had endurance. He was dependable, patience, faithful, and tolerant. Ezekiel was truthful in all that he spoke because all of his words were from God. Ezekiel was forgiving and tolerant of God when God decided to take Ezekiel’s wife away to make a point. Ezekiel was very obedient as he obeyed God’s every single command including not mourning when his wife died. God gave Ezekiel lots of endurance because he prophetized for over twenty-two years. With his endurance, showed he was always dependable and faithful. All God needed to do was tell Ezekiel what to say or do, and Ezekiel would complete the task without complaint. Ezekiel was very patient even though God did not allow him to speak for seven and a half years and he complied with that. Ezekiel’s death is unknown, but an ancient Jewish tradition states that Ezekiel was killed by his own people because of his preaching. Ezekiel’s body is believed to be buried on the banks of the Euphrates, in the modern-day city of Kifl, just south of the ancient city Babylon. The tomb is said to have built by Jehoiachin.

The Light Bulb: One of the Most Useful Inventions in the World

People need light to be able to see. In the morning, there is sunlight. But in the night, people use electric light made from light bulbs. Without light bulbs, people would not be able to see and would have to rely on their other senses to do tasks. Without light bulbs, our lives would be very different. The light bulb is a very useful invention that people all over the world use every day. The creation of the light bulb can be traced back to the 19th century. In 1800, Humphrey Davy made the arc lamp (â€Å"Lighting†). But the arc lamp was very dangerous because light was made by sparks, increasing the chance of fire (Burnie 52). In 1860, Joseph Swan made an incandescent light bulb. But the light bulb had many disadvantages. The light bulb burned out in an hour and it cost a lot of money (Burnie 52). Also, the filament was made of pure carbon, so when the carbon burnt, it filed the bulb with soot (â€Å"Lighting†). Then in 1879, Thomas Edison made a better incandescent (a term for heat-driven light emissions) light bulb. Time News reported, â€Å"Thomas Edison is the creator of the first commercially viable light bulb. † His incandescent light bulb was efficient, affordable, and safe (Fletcher). It took Edison years to make an incandescent light bulb. First he used a platinum filament and used a vacuum pump to reduce the oxygen level in the bulb, so it would be harder for a fire to start (Mintz 83). Later, he coated the filament with magnesium. He tested the bulb. Its electrical resistance was only 3 ohms, meaning that it doesn’t glow brightly. But it did glow for 13 hours and 38 minutes, proving it’s possible to keep a filament lit for long periods of time. Then he decided to use carbon because it was cheap and had a high melting point (Mintz 86). He used a fat piece of carbon, but its electrical resistance was only 2 ohms (Mintz 88). Then he made the piece thinner and longer, so the electrical resistance increased to 113 ohms (Mintz 89). Mintz said, â€Å"For example, if the same amount of water was put in a straw and a big water pipe, the pressure of the water in the straw would be a lot more† (90). Electrical resistance works the same way. Because he made the filament smaller, its electrical resistance increased, but it burned out in a few seconds. Finally, he made a filament that gave the best results. He used a piece of carbon, boiled in sugar and alcohol, and then baked in an over. Its electrical resistance was 107 ohms and it lasted 170 hours. Thomas Edison wrote in his diary, â€Å"My light is perfected† (Mintz 90). Thomas Edison created an incandescent light bulb, but now there are many others. One of them is a standard light bulb. It is an incandescent light bulb with 20 inches of filament made by tungsten (a metal discovered in 1912) surrounded by gases. It makes yellow-white light, but its efficiency is only 8%, meaning that only 8% of the electricity input is used to make light. The other 92% is used as heat or is passed to the other end of the filament. A daylight bulb is an incandescent light bulb, but is made to give the color and feel of daylight. It is made of many colors (Burnie 53). A fluorescent bulb works by passing current through a tube, producing ultraviolet radiation. The radiation hits the phosphorous coating, making light through chemical process. The bulb lasts about 10,000 hours. There is also a compact fluorescent bulb. They work like normal fluorescent bulbs, but are smaller and screw into sockets like incandescent light bulbs. Compact fluorescent bulbs also last about 10,000 hours (Kremer). Another type of bulb is low-pressure sodium lamp. It contains a little sodium, so it takes a few minutes to light up. The light it makes is almost pure yellow. A high-pressure sodium lamp contains sodium and aluminum. It makes pink-blue light. It is very efficient (Burnie 53). Another type of light is LED (light emitting diode). Compared to all the other types of light bulbs, LEDs are very unique and different. They have no filament, have a long life span, produce no heat, are very efficient, and one bulb is less than an inch long and about a centimeter wide. Unfortunately, they are very expensive. For under-the-cabinet lighting in a kitchen, one strip of it costs about $100 (Kremer). Overall, there are many different light bulbs now, and more will be invented in the future. There are many different light bulbs for different uses. Each light bulb can be used in at least one way or another. For example, daylight bulbs are used inside of buildings (Burnie 53). So are incandescent bulbs, fluorescent, compact fluorescent, and LED (Kremer). Low-pressure and high-pressure sodium lamps are used outside. More specifically, low-pressure sodium lamps are used in less populated areas, such as driveways. High-pressure sodium lamps are used in more populated ideas, such as streets. Incandescent bulbs, compact fluorescent, and LED bulbs are used in appliances and household objects, such as microwaves, flashlights, and cars (Burnie 53). All these bulbs help us see. Bulbs used inside buildings help us find objects in the night. Street lights make it safer to go bike riding, walk, or drive a car outside when it is dark. Bulbs used in household objects and appliances help us in many ways. For example, the bulb inside a refrigerator enables us to see food. The light in a flashlight helps us see in places where there is no light. All in all, light bulbs have many uses. The invention of the light bulb is very useful and everyone uses it. Without the light bulb, our lives would be very different. We would either have to use candles and risk the chance of fire, or not use candles and not be able to see at all in the night. I think that light bulbs help us every day, day and night, and are less dangerous than fire and candles.

The Basis for Cridme Deterren ce in the United States

The basis for crime deterrence in the United States is based on the exacting words of Beccaria, â€Å"†¦ a punishment†¦ should be public, immediate, and necessary, the least possible in the case given, proportioned to the crime, and determined by the laws. While this philosophy fulfills its intended goals, it also comes with far reaching consequences for criminal offenders and completely ignores the true goal of incarceration, to rehabilitate the offender for reintroduction into society. Mass incarceration as a means of criminal rehabilitation in the United States is extremely flawed. There are many far-reaching consequences of this practice that not only affects the incarcerated but larger society on a whole. The phrase mass incarceration, according to Oxford Encyclopedia, refers to â€Å"comparatively and historically extreme rates of imprisonment in which the concentration of imprisonment is among young, African American men living in neighborhoods of concentrated disa dvantage.† The United States has a population of about 313.9 million people, which is about 4% of the world’s population. Despite this small percentage of the world’s population, the United States accounts for 25% of the world’s incarcerated population (2.2 million Americans are in prison or jail) and this number has increased 300% since 1984. Statistics compiled by the Vlog Brothers show that 41% of young adults and juveniles will be arrested by the age of 23 and that children as young as 13 years of age have been